A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Nuhaka were absolutely magnificent last Saturday.
The Nuhaka V8s at home beat Civil Project Solutions Senior 1 Rugby's No.2 team, Charteris Choppers Wairoa Athletic, 18-5 in a great match-effort.
Athletic captain and loosehead prop Alex Little won the toss and chose to play into a nor'westerly breeze and the sun. Nuhaka skipper and first five-eighth Russell Love elected to kick off with a crowd of 200 in.
The hosts started as they meant to go on at Nuhaka Domain, setting the tone for concentration and accuracy with a 25-metre penalty goal to right wing Clay Wesche in the fifth minute of play.
Eleven minutes in, Nuhaka fullback Nikora Smith scored the first try of the match, which with Wesche's conversion gave the home team a 10-0 lead.
Another Wesche penalty at the 35th minute saw Nuhaka up 13-0 at halftime in what their veteran second-five Hickson Raroa was moved to describe as “a very physical game, dominated by the forwards”.
After 57 minutes, Nuhaka turned possession over in their own half and Wairoa Athletic left wing Douglas Vehikite scored in the corner — rich reward for the visitors, and well deserved.
The score remained 13-5 to Nuhaka until the 76th minute, when reserve fullback Wayne Wesche scored in the right corner for 18-5 to wrap things up.
The home team's triumph was made possible mainly by their pack . . . openside flanker Pat Smith and MVP (most valuable player) Raukura Waihape come to mind.
For Athletic, openside flanker Ollie Rhodes and second-five George Twigley carried the ball strongly throughout.
Giant lock Adriaan Brits was solid on his return from the Republic but there is no rest for the wicked: Wairoa Athletic under Paul Morunga will have the headiest challenge to meet next game up — Roseland Tavern Tapuae at the Tapuae Sports Grounds.
Forget that they couldn't split the difference: the Buccaneers and the Bumbles are thriving.
Senior 1 leaders Turanga Pirates have won four of six games. They have twice drawn 22-all with Tony Barbarich's YMP Bumbles.
Although the teams would appear — in terms of the six-team table — to be poles apart, on April 23 and June 11, that was proven not to be the case.
Pirates coach Anthony Kiwara is doing a marvellous job.
“That was a hard-fought game,” he said.
“Neither team gave an inch, and it was actually a spectacle to watch.
“The wind played a major part in the game. Both teams capitalised on a strong nor'westerly, with positional kicks. We had it in the first half and used it very well.
“The referee, Ben Holt, was excellent: he allowed both sides to play some exciting, quality rugby.”
Buccaneers co-captain and first-five Tyreke Casey won the toss and chose an end. YMP skipper and blindside flanker Shyann Wyllie opted to kick off.
In the ninth minute, Pirates' MVP, blindside flanker Manase Tupe, opened the scoring with a try, which was converted by Casey.
Casey scored with a penalty goal 15 minutes in, for 10-0, then YMP got going.
They scored through fullback-cum-first-five Wini Tarawa at the 20th minute, a try that wasn't converted.
Loosehead prop Mango Halaifonua got the biggest roar of the day for his try in the 31st minute, no conversion, for 15-5 to Pirates.
Right wing Kobe Wyllie scored the last try and points of the first half in the 36th minute to close it to 15-10.
YMP then seized the initiative. Reserve second-five Manaia Heperi scored for the black-and-whites, the first try of the second half — in the 57th minute — for 15-all. Shyann Wyllie's conversion gave YMP the lead, 17-15.
Pirates second-five Nahau Holani was the next man to score, in the 64th minute. Casey landed his second conversion for 22-17 and it was left to possibly local rugby's most capable finisher, in either Premier or Senior 1, fullback Andrew Tauatevalu, to score YMP's last try — the equaliser — for 22-22.
Expect fireworks if these teams meet again this year — what odds on 22-all at the end of regulation or even extra time?
Tapuae versus Ngatapa was the highest-scoring game of the day.
Senior 1 rugby produces some great tries and the clash between hosts Harvest/Matawhero Transport and Roseland Tavern Tapuae on the former's club day racked up eight of them.
Visitors Tapuae outgunned the green and whites five tries to four to win the game 33-21. Tapuae captain hooker Wayne Hema led his team to their third win, and Hema's posse is capable of knocking Pirates, Wairoa-Athletic or Nuhaka over on a good day.
That said, Tapua should consider themselves lucky to have hung on out at Paddy's Park 1.
They led 33-0 at halftime, had 15 players only and both teams could consider themselves most fortunate that Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union chief executive officer Josh Willoughby was on hand to take the whistle after Tony Watson, who himself answered a late call-up from the Referees' Association most generously. CPS Poverty Bay Weka head coach Miah Nikora had done the same thing for the Gisborne Boys' High School first 15 and St. Paul's Collegiate at Rectory No.1 on April 19) took the whistle for an injured referee.
Where at the Rectory that had been Damien Macpherson (right knee) four minutes in, on Saturday it was Watson (left calf) after 12 minutes. In both cases, the standard of officiating remained high.
Openside flanker Materoa Edwards scored the first try for Tapuae off a great inside pass from No.8 Donnelly Hikawai, who had come off the back of an attacking scrum set on Ngatapa's 22 in the fifth minute. His try was converted, as were those of Tapuae goal-kicker fullback Kyone Te Amo himself (11th minute), Hema (17th min), right-wing Kingi Te Amo (25th) and impressive young centre Nicodemus Tipoki-Russell - whose try was unconverted - in the 39th minute for 33-0.
After the break, it was riches to rags for Tapuae in terms of field position and possession of the ball: the wind was that strong. Ngatapa scored in the 55th minute (centre Saxon Beattie), the 30th (right-wing Hamish Griffin) and on full-time (Cody Becker). Reserve halfback Thor Crombie converted all three of Ngatapa's tries in a massive second-half comeback led by Ngatapa captain openside flanker Flynn Burkett.
Ngatapa Harvest/Matawhero Transport 21 (Saxon Beattie, Hamish Griffin, Cody Becker, tries; Thor Crombie 3 con) Roseland Tavern Tapuae 33 (Materoa Edwards, Kyone Te Amo, Wayne Hema, Kingi Te Amo, Nicodemus Tipoki-Russell, tries; Kyone Te Amo 4 con).
Halftime: 33-0.
Nuhaka V8s 18 (Nikora Smith, Wayne Wesche, tries; Clay Wesche con, 2 pen) Charteris Choppers Wairoa Athletic 5 (Douglas Vehikite try). HT: Nuhaka 13-0.
YMP Bumbles 22 (Winiata Tarawa, Kobe Wyllie, Manaia Heperi, Andrew Tauatevalu, tries; Shyann Wyllie con) Turanga Pirates 22 (Nahau Holani, Manase Tupe, Mango Halaifonua, tries; Tyreke Casey 2 con, pen). HT: Pirates 15-10.
Senior 1 MVPs: Matt Snelling (Ngatapa), JJ Solomon (Tapuae), Raukura Waihape (Nuhaka), Ollie Rhodes (Wairoa Athletic), Zenith Swann-Campbell (YMP), Manase Tupe (Pirates).